Still, Ghosh’s impressive history of the opium industry is an attempt to acknowledge “the historical agency of botanical matter” — to understand the drug “as an actor in its own right.” ...

Evidence of the earliest use of the narcotic opium has been found in an ancient burial site in Israel. Traces were discovered by archaeologists in pottery vessels at the complex in Yehud ...

Recent discoveries suggest that small spoon-shaped objects attached to the belts of ancient Northern European warriors might ...

The use of narcotics like opium is well documented in ancient Greece and Rome, but barbarians living outside the Roman Empire were assumed to have generally not used stimulants drugs apart from ...

Guest: Amitav Ghosh is the author of several bestselling books including, Ibis Trilogy; his latest is Smoke and Ashes: Opiums ...

Economic History Review 'The book is a tour de force of evidence and ... that war might yet be simply described as the result of opium trading.' Journal of Oriental Studies 'Wong's monumental study ...

PROF. ZHENG YANGWEN:That the Chinese were buying a little bit of opium every time, and that number was increasing. PRESENTER:'The key to the opium trade was British control of India, 'where the ...

In interviews with drug-war figures ranging from opium farmers to U.S. officials, Cowell unravels the complex political, economic, and diplomatic web that surrounds the heroin business.

In the eyes of many scholars, the conflict marked the end of China's isolation and the beginning of modern Chinese history. But the price paid was heavy. So, what exactly were the Opium Wars?